Contact center customization in data communications systems

ABSTRACT

Certain aspects of the disclosure are directed to customization of a contact center, using a data communications server. According to a specific example, the data communications server includes circuitry configured and arranged to provide data communications services to a plurality of remotely-situated client entities. The data communications server further provides a user interface for each respective remotely-situated client entity, the user interface including a display of communications-based campaigns, interactive voice response (IVR) tools, and data analytics. Moreover, the data communications server provides a display on the user interface which may include selectable components to create for the associated remotely-situated client entity, a customized way for handling incoming data communications by the data communications server. Accordingly, the data communications server may handle communications for the associated remotely-situated client entity according to the provided customization.

OVERVIEW

Aspects of various embodiments are directed to contact center managementin data communications systems. In the following discussion, variousimplementations and applications are disclosed to provide anunderstanding of the instant disclosure by way of non-limiting exampleembodiments exemplified by way of one or more data-communicationsservers, such as server(s) operated on behalf of data-communicationsservice providers, which provide users access to managed databasesand/or services over the high throughput mediums. Non-limiting examplesof data-communications service providers include ISPs (Internet ServiceProviders) and various other companies which provide Internet-relatedservices such as email and search-engine services and more specializedcomputer-based services such as staffing software service, informationtechnology management service, and/or customer relationship managementservices.

Among many other examples is a data communications service companyproviding services which include Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP)-type data communications. VoIP communications typically involve aVoIP-type data-communications server communicating with a VoIP-enabledendpoint device (“VoIP device”) via a broadband network (Internet, WiFi,cellular, satellite, etc.) to connect with such a (VoIP) server that ismanaged by a VoIP provider and/or an ISP. Through such a server, callrouting and other data communications services are managed for theendpoint device.

Computer servers are increasingly being used to provide various servicesover a network including, but not limited to, data communicationsservices such as VoIP calls, video conferencing, call exchange servers,packet switching, and traffic management as well as non-VoIP servicesincluding, but not limited to: website hosting, remote data storage,remote computing services, and virtual computing environments.

SUMMARY

Various example embodiments are directed to issues such as thoseaddressed above and/or others which may become apparent from thefollowing disclosure concerning contact center management in datacommunications systems.

In an example embodiment, contact center management is provided, using adata communications server, where the data communications serverincludes circuitry configured and arranged to provide datacommunications services to a plurality of remotely-situated cliententities. In such example embodiment, the data communications server mayprovide contact center management by determining a disposition for eachrespective communication among a plurality of communications placed totarget recipients in a first campaign of a first client entity among theplurality of client entities, based on parameters defined by or onbehalf of the respective client entity and relating to measurablecommunications metrics. The data communications server may compareattributes of the first campaign of the first client entity andattributes of a second campaign, and determine a success rate of thesecond campaign based on the disposition of the plurality ofcommunications of the first campaign and the comparison of theattributes of the first campaign and the second campaign.

In yet another example embodiment, a customizable communications systemis provided. The system includes a plurality of remotely-situated cliententities, each remotely-situated client entity having at least onecomputing device including a user interface, and a data communicationsserver communicatively coupled to the plurality of remotely-situatedclient entities, the data communications server including one or morecomputer processor circuits coupled to memory circuits and configured tointerface with the plurality of remotely-situated client entities. Thedata communications server is configured and arranged to provide agraphical user interface (GUI) for each respective remotely-situatedclient entity, the GUI including a display of call campaigns,interactive voice response (IVR) tools, and data analytics. The datacommunications server is configured and arranged to provide a display onthe GUI including selectable components to create customized IVR queuesspecifying a manner of handling incoming telephone calls for theassociated remotely-situated client entity. The data communicationsserver is further configured and arranged to provide a display on theGUI including selectable options to configure automatic calling listsfor the associated remotely-situated client entity, and to handleincoming and/or outgoing calls for the associated remotely-situatedclient entity according to the configured IVR queues and/or theconfigured automatic calling lists.

The above discussion/summary is not intended to describe each embodimentor every implementation of the present disclosure. The figures anddetailed description that follow also exemplify various embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

Various example embodiments may be more completely understood inconsideration of the following detailed description and in connectionwith the drawings included in the attached Appendices and theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system for contact center managementin data communications systems, consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows an example flowchart for management of a datacommunications center, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 shows an example flowchart for management of a datacommunications center, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 4 illustrates an example graphical user interface (GUI) for datacommunications center management, consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

While various embodiments discussed herein are amenable to modificationsand alternative forms, aspects thereof have been shown by way of examplein the drawings and will be described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the intention is not to limit the disclosureto the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intentionis to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives fallingwithin the scope of the disclosure including aspects defined in theclaims. In addition, the term “example” as used throughout thisapplication is only by way of illustration, and not limitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure are believed to be applicable to avariety of different types of apparatuses, systems and methods forcontact center management in data communications systems. In certainimplementations, aspects of the present disclosure have been shown to bebeneficial when used in a data communications system.

Many companies, in particular large companies that sell goods andservices directly to consumers, operate data communications centers. Adata communications center refers to or includes an interconnectedsystem of data and/or voice-enabled devices including circuitryconfigured and arranged to provide data and/or voice services. Aparticular example of such services includes voice services, in whichthe data communications center includes a number of telephone operators(e.g., agents) who answer inbound calls from customers and/or placeoutbound calls to customers. A data communications center may operate toplace large numbers of outbound communications to customers or potentialcustomers, for instance for marketing purposes (e.g., telemarketing).

Such data communications centers may provide each agent with a list ofcustomer identifiers, such as telephone numbers, usernames, emailaddresses, and/or user identifiers (among others) to manually contactthe customer or potential customer. However, manual contact is timeconsuming, expensive and prone to error.

In accordance with examples of the present disclosure, a datacommunications server may provide for customization of a contact center.In such example embodiments, the data communications server includescircuitry configured and arranged to provide data communicationsservices to a plurality of remotely-situated client entities.Additionally, the data communications server is configured and arrangedto provide customization of the contact center by providing a graphicaluser interface (GUI) for each respective remotely-situated cliententity, the GUI including a display of communications-based campaigns,interactive voice response (IVR) tools, and data analytics. The datacommunications server may provide a display on the GUI includingselectable components to create for the associated remotely-situatedclient entity, a customization for handling incoming data communicationsby the data communications server. In response, the data communicationsserver may handle communications for the associated remotely-situatedclient entity according to the provided customization.

In some example embodiments, the data communications server isconfigured and arranged to provide customization of the contact centerby providing a display on the GUI including selectable components tocreate for the associated remotely-situated client entity, acustomization for handling incoming telephone calls by an IVR system. Insuch embodiments, the data communications server is configured andarranged to provide customization of the contact center by handlingcommunications for the associated remotely situated client entityaccording to the configured IVR system.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the data communications server may beconfigured and arranged to provide customization of the contact centerby providing a display on the GUI including selectable options toconfigure automatic contact lists for the associated remotely situatedclient entity. In such embodiments, the data communications server isconfigured and arranged to provide customization of the contact centerby handling communications for the associated remotely situated cliententity according to the configured automatic contact lists.

In a particular example embodiment, the data communications serverincludes one or more computer processor circuits coupled to memorycircuits and configured to interface with a plurality ofremotely-situated client entities, each remotely-situated client entityhaving at least one computing device including a user interface. Thedata communications server may be configured and arranged to provide aGUI for each respective remotely-situated client entity, the GUIincluding a display of call campaigns, IVR tools, and data analytics,among other aspects. For instance, the data communications server may beconfigured to provide a display on the GUI including real-timeinformation regarding the performance of each call campaign of theassociated remotely-situated client entity on portable electronicdevices. As a further illustration, the data communications server isconfigured to integrate data from other communications systems to allowclient-entities to accept and make calls and track inquiries fromcustomers. Moreover, the data communications server may be configured toprovide a display on the GUI including a representation of all IVRqueues that have been built by users of the remotely-situated cliententity.

In various example embodiments, the data communications server isconfigured and arranged to provide users with the ability to customizethe contact center. For instance, the data communications server may beconfigured to provide a display on the GUI including a selection tocreate a new IVR queue, and a region for drag and drop configuration ofthe selectable components in a flow chart that represents the IVR queue.Each selectable component within the flow chart may be moveable, and theflow chart may include a first path representing normal call routingoperation, a second path representing an error in a call routingoperation, a third path representing a timeout condition, and a fourthpath representing a retry operation. As such, the data communicationsserver may be configured to provide a display on the GUI including acomponent panel that contains selectable components for use in an IVRqueue, where each selectable component can be selected and dropped onthe region for drag and drop configuration, and where each selectablecomponent performs a different operation for handling calls to and/orfrom the associated remotely-situated client entity.

Examples of the present disclosure allow users (e.g., customers and/orusers of a data communications system) to create a fully customizedcontact center using a variety of tools provided by the datacommunications system over a network. With the customized contactcenter, users can create more efficient marketing campaigns using datacollected by the data communications system. A marketing campaign (e.g.,communications-based campaign, or simply “campaign”), as used herein,refers to and/or includes a plurality of agents placing calls and/ornon-voice communications to targeted contacts, such as a customercontact list, with particular frequency, on particular days, and/or atparticular times of day with the intention of making sales, generatingleads, marketing a brand, and/or performing market research. As anillustration, attributes of a campaign for a first company, may becompared to attributes of a campaign for a second company, to determinethe likely success of the campaign for the second company. Attributes ofa marketing campaign may include a number of variables, including phonenumbers or customer identifiers contacted, the day of the week in whicheach respective customer is contacted, the time of day each respectivecustomer is contacted, and from where the communication appeared tooriginate, such as if a call appeared to originate from a local areacode, among other example variables. In another illustration, attributesof a first campaign for a company may be used to generate a secondcampaign for the company. For example, if particular times of day workedbest to contact target customers as part of the first campaign for thecompany, the second campaign for the company may be structured tocontact the target customers during the same times of day.

Examples of such a system include a data communications servercomprising one or more computer processor circuits coupled to memorycircuits and configured to interface with a plurality ofremotely-situated client entities. The data communications server isconfigured and arranged to monitor a plurality of communicationsgenerated by an automatic contact system associated with a firstremotely-situated client entity among the plurality of remotely-situatedclient entities, the plurality of communications placed to targetrecipients in a first campaign of the first client entity. The datacommunications server may receive data corresponding to the plurality ofcommunications placed by the automatic contact system associated withthe first remotely-situated client entity. For example, the datacommunications server may comprise a VoIP server configured and arrangedto facilitate VoIP telephone calls between the remotely-situated cliententity (e.g., the customer) and a target recipient (e.g., a phone numberin a customer calling list of a call campaign). The data communicationsserver may receive from the target recipient, data indicating whetherthe communication was answered or unanswered, dropped, connected to amessage recording system, and a duration the communications, among otherdata associated with communications placed by the data communicationsserver. The data communications server may determine a disposition ofthe plurality of communications based at least on the received data. Thedisposition of a communication may include one or more of the following:answered, unanswered, dropped or disconnected, invalid contact/customeridentifier, incorrect contact/customer identifier, sale made, no salemade, and decision making contact contacted, among others.

The data communications server may compare attributes of the firstcampaign to attributes of a second campaign to determine the likelihoodof success of the second campaign. In some examples, the second campaignmay be a second campaign of the same customer. In other examples, thesecond campaign may be a campaign of a different customer (e.g., adifferent customer than the customer associated with the first callcampaign).

The attributes which are used to analyze the campaign performance, andthe objective which correlates with success of a particular campaign maybe customized by each individual customer. For instance, a first companymay specify that, for a particular campaign, agents in the datacommunications center for the first company must speak with a specifiednumber or percentage of individuals in the contact list of the campaign.As such, the attributes of the campaign which are analyzed to determinethe success of the campaign may include variables such as the time ofday that the communication (s) were placed, the day in which thecommunication(s) were placed, and the location from which thecommunication(s) appeared to originate, among other examples. The firstcompany may specify that the call campaign is “successful,” if at least50% of the communications placed were answered by a person.

As another illustration, the first company may specify that, for aparticular campaign, at least 60% of the communications placed in thecampaign must be answered by a decision maker, and at least 20% of thecommunications placed must result in a sale. As such, the attributes ofthe campaign which are analyzed to determine the success of the campaignmay include variables such as whether the communication was answered bya person, whether the person was a decision maker, and whether thecommunication ended in a sale. The campaign may be considered“successful” if at least 60% of the communications were answered by adecision maker and at least 20% of the communications resulted in asale. By using the data from a first campaign, and comparing theattributes of the first call campaign to attributes of a secondcampaign, a likelihood of success of the second campaign may bedetermined.

In some examples, the data communications server is configured andarranged to generate a contact list for a campaign, and to compare thecampaign to previous campaigns to determine a likelihood of success. Asan illustration, a company may generate a first campaign to sell goodsto customers. The company may generate, using the data communicationsserver, a first campaign to reach a list of customers to sell the goodto. The campaign may specify a contact list including a list of contactsto communicate with (e.g., in written form such as by email, instantmessage, text message, etc., or verbally such as by phone call, voicemessage, etc.), an order in which to contact the individuals and/orentities in the contact list, a date to contact each individual and/orentity in the contact list, a time to contact each individual and/orentity in the contact list, and an identifier to use as an originatingidentifier which may represent the customer. As described herein,various attributes of the campaign may be set by the company which areused to determine the relative “success” of the campaign. For instance,the company may specify that the number of customers contacted in aspecified period of time may determine the relative “success” of thecampaign. The first campaign may be limited to a particular period oftime, such as a specified week or month of a calendar year. Once theperiod of time corresponding to the first campaign is complete, therelative success or failure of the campaign may be determined by thedata communications server.

Subsequently, the company may create a second campaign, using data fromthe first campaign. A second list of target recipients corresponding tothe second call campaign may be generated. Customers contacted in thefirst campaign may be automatically added and/or removed from thecontact list of the second campaign. Attributes of the second campaignfor the company may be the same and/or different from the firstcampaign. The attributes of the second campaign for the company may becompared to the attributes of the first campaign to determine a relativelikelihood of success of the second campaign. For instance, assume forthe sake of illustration that during the first campaign, a greaterproportion of the communications placed in the evening hours duringweekdays were answered. In this illustration, the day and time of thescheduled communications of the second campaign would be compared to theday and time in which the communications of the first campaign wereplaced. If the second campaign includes scheduled communications to thecustomers in the daytime hours during weekdays, then the likelihood ofsuccess of the second campaign may be low (e.g., below a specifiedthreshold). Conversely, if the second campaign includes scheduledcommunications to the customers in the evening hours during weekdays,then the likelihood of success of the second campaign may be high (e.g.,above a specified threshold). Accordingly, the data communicationsserver may compare attributes of the second campaign of the first cliententity to attributes of the first campaign of the first client entity,and identify a predicted success rate of the second campaign of thefirst client entity based on the comparison of the campaign attributes.

As described herein, data may be collected for different campaigns, anddifferent attributes of the respective campaigns may be used todetermine the relative success of a particular campaign. For example,one variable that may be used to analyze the campaign performance mayinclude “No Answer,” which represents the number of outbound callswithin a campaign that were unanswered by a person or an answer machine.Another variable that may be used includes “Sales per Hour,” whichrepresents an amount of sales made within a certain hour. Othervariables include, “Call Duration,” which represents the total durationof a connected call; “Total Answered,” which represents the total numberof answered calls; “Answer Machines,” which represents the total numberof calls connected to an answer machine; “Total Calls,” which representsthe total number of calls made; and “Total Completes,” which representsthe total number of completed records from a campaign. Additionalvariables include “Dead Lines,” which represents the total number ofdead lines from a campaign; “Total DMCs,” which represents the totalnumber or decision making contacts that were contacted; “InboundAbandons,” which represents the total number of inbound calls which wereabandoned; “Manual Dials & TPTs,” which represents the total number ofmanual calls or third party transfer calls made; “Outbound Abandons,”which represents the total number of outbound calls which wereabandoned; “Total Sales,” which represents the total number of salesfrom a campaign; and “Uncontacted,” which represents the total number ofrecords that were uncontacted. It is noted however, that additionaland/or different variables may be included in a particular campaign, andthe list provided above is merely illustrative.

Additionally, examples of the present disclosure allow users (e.g.,customers and/or users of a data communications system) to createcustomized contact lists to communicate with (e.g., in written form suchas by email, instant message, text message, etc., or verbally such as byphone call, voice message, etc.) for particular campaigns, using datacollected by the data communications system. For example, a firstcompany may contact a plurality of customer identifiers as part of acampaign. Some of the customer identifiers contacted by the firstcompany may be disconnected, incorrect, or otherwise unsuitable for acampaign. Such “bad” contacts/customer identifiers waste time andresources if they are included in a call campaign. Accordingly, the datacommunications system may assist a second company, by identifying andremoving “bad” contacts/customer identifiers from campaigns, therebyimproving the success and efficiency of the campaign for the secondcompany. In another illustration, contact lists of a first campaign forthe first company may be used to generate contact lists of a secondcampaign for the first company. For example, if particularcontacts/customer identifiers on the contact list of the first campaignwere identified as disconnected or incorrect during the first campaign,these identified contacts may be removed from a second (and perhapssubsequent) campaign for the first company.

Examples of such a system include a data communications servercomprising one or more computer processor circuits coupled to memorycircuits and configured to interface with a plurality ofremotely-situated client entities. The data communications server isconfigured and arranged to monitor a plurality of communicationsgenerated by an automatic contact system associated with a firstremotely-situated client entity among the plurality of remotely-situatedclient entities, the plurality of communications placed to targetrecipients in a first campaign of the first remotely-situated cliententity. The data communications server is further configured andarranged to receive data corresponding to the plurality ofcommunications placed by the automatic contact system associated withthe first remotely-situated client entity, as described herein. The datacommunications server is configured and arranged to determine adisposition of each of the plurality of communications based at least onthe received data, and to generate a customer contact list for a secondcampaign associated with a second remotely-situated client entity, basedat least in part on the disposition of the plurality of communicationsfrom the first campaign.

In some examples, the data communications server is configured andarranged to identify target recipients of the first campaign, and removethe identified target recipients from subsequent campaigns. Forinstance, the data communications server may identify communications inthe first campaign that were answered but did not result in a sale(e.g., had a disposition indicative of an unsuccessful sale). The datacommunications server may remove the identified target recipients fromsubsequent campaigns for the first remotely-situated client entity.

In some examples, the data communications server is configured andarranged to identify target recipients of a campaign from one customer(e.g., a first remotely-situated client entity), and remove theidentified target recipients from campaigns from another customer. Forinstance, the data communications server may identify target recipientsof the first campaign that answered the sales communication, but thatdid not result in a sale (e.g., had a disposition indicative of anunsuccessful sale). The data communications server may remove theidentified target recipients from a campaign for the second customer(e.g., a second remotely-situated client entity).

In yet another example, the data communications server may identifytarget recipients of the first campaign that had a dispositionindicative of a bad contact/customer identifier (e.g., a phone numbercalled in the first campaign was either incorrect, disconnected, orotherwise invalid). In such examples, the data communications server mayremove the identified target recipients (e.g., the “bad” phone numbers)from a campaign for the second customer (e.g., a secondremotely-situated client entity).

In some examples, the data communications server is configured andarranged to automatically adjust a campaign based on data collected fromprevious campaigns. For instance, the data communications server mayidentify particular days or times of day when each respective targetrecipient of a first campaign were contacted, and which of thosecommunications had a disposition including a completed sale. The datacommunications server may identify that a greater proportion of thecommunications in the first campaign resulted in a completed sales whenthey were placed on a particular day or time of day. Thereby, the datacommunications server may automatically adjust the particular days ortimes of day to communicate with the target recipients in a subsequentcampaign. The subsequent campaign may be a second campaign for the samecustomer (e.g., the same remotely-situated client entity), or adifferent customer (e.g., a second remotely-situated client entity).

Moreover, examples of the present disclosure allow users to create acustomized Interactive Voice Response (IVR) using selectable componentson a graphical user interface (GUI). The data communications server mayprovide each user (e.g., customer) with a GUI for creating a customizedIVR. The GUI may include selectable components and a flow chart thatrepresents an IVR queue to be implemented for the user. By selecting,dragging, and dropping the selectable components onto the flow chart,users can create an IVR system that includes IVR components selected andarranged in a particular sequence to best meet the needs of the user.

Examples of such a system include a customizable communications system,the system comprising a plurality of remotely-situated client entities,each remotely-situated client entity having at least one computingdevice including a user interface, and a data communications servercommunicatively coupled to the plurality of remotely-situated cliententities. The data communications server may include one or morecomputer processor circuits coupled to memory circuits and configured tointerface with the plurality of remotely-situated client entities. Insuch examples, the data communications server is configured and arrangedto provide a GUI for each respective remotely-situated client entity.The GUI may include a display of campaigns, interactive voice response(IVR) tools, and data analytics. The campaigns displayed may includecall campaigns previously executed, call campaigns currently inprogress, and campaigns that have yet to be executed. The data analyticsmay include data about each respective campaign, including theattributes and likelihood of success, as discussed herein. The IVR toolsmay include a plurality of selectable components for creating acustomized IVR system for the customer (e.g., the remotely-situatedclient entity).

The data communications server may provide a display on the GUIincluding selectable components to create customized IVR queuesspecifying a manner of handling incoming communications for theassociated remotely-situated client entity. For instance, the datacommunications server may be configured and arranged to provide adisplay on the GUI including an option to create a new IVR queue, and aregion for drag and drop configuration of the selectable components in aflow chart that represents the IVR queue. As such, a user may simplyselect a particular selectable component, and move the selectedcomponent to a particular location in the flow chart (e.g., “drag anddrop” the selected component into the flow chart), in order to create acustomized IVR queue. The IVR queue includes an order or sequence inwhich incoming and/or outgoing communications are directed to differentcomponents of the IVR system. Each selectable component within the flowchart may be moveable (e.g., moved from one spot in the IVR queue toanother spot in the IVR queue). The flow chart may include a first pathrepresenting normal data communications routing operation, andadditional paths representing anything other than normal datacommunications routing operation. For example, a first path representingnormal data communications routing operation may be illustrated on thedisplay of the GUI in a green color, a second path representing an errorin a data communications routing operation may be illustrated on thedisplay of the GUI in a red color, a third path representing a timeoutcondition may be illustrated on the display of the GUI in an orangecolor, and a fourth path representing a retry operation may beillustrated on the display of the GUI in a grey color. The datacommunications server is configured and arranged to provide a display onthe GUI including a component panel that contains the selectablecomponents for use in the IVR queue, where each selectable component canbe selected and dropped on a region including the flow chart for dragand drop configuration.

Each selectable component available on the GUI may perform a differentrespective operation for handling data communications to and/or from theassociated remotely-situated client entity. For example, the selectablecomponents displayed on the GUI and available for the user to select mayinclude: a “Menu” component which used to play an audio message to acaller and then wait for them to press a key on their telephone; an“exit” component which used to hang up the call; a “play message”component which is used to play a customizable audio file to the callerbefore moving onto the next component; a “do not call component” whichadds the caller's phone number to the do not call (DNC) list for thecontact center; a “queue” component which transfers the call to anotherinbound queue; a “dial” component which dials a phone number specifiedin a properties panel; an “outcome” component which sets the desiredoutcome of the call; a “capture” component which plays an audio messageasking the caller to enter information using their keypad and recordstheir response; a “say digit” component which reads a value stored in avariable; a “post” component which posts information available to aparticular server; a “match” component which redirects an incoming callusing the caller ID of the caller; a “select” component which allows theselection of a customer record based on particular search criteria; anda “label” component which allows the user to apply a label to thecreated IVR queue.

The data communications system may also provide a display on the GUIincluding selectable options to configure automatic contact lists, forthe associated remotely-situated client entity. Once the IVR system iscreated, the data communications server may handle incoming and/oroutgoing communications for the associated remotely-situated cliententity according to the configured IVR queues and/or the configuredautomatic contact lists.

In some examples, the data communications server is configured andarranged to provide a display on the GUI including real-time informationregarding the performance of each campaign of the associatedremotely-situated client entity on portable electronic devices. Forinstance, a display may be provided such that the real-time performanceof a particular campaign may be visible from a mobile phone, tablet, orother portable electronic device.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system forcontact center management in data communications systems, consistentwith embodiments of the present disclosure. The system includes a datacommunications server 110 configured to provide data communications fora plurality of endpoint devices 152, 154, 156, 162, 164, and 166connected in one or more data networks 130 and 140. The endpoint devicesmay include VoIP-enabled devices (e.g., IP phones, smart phones,tablets, and/or desktop computers with appropriate VoIP softwareapplications) and/or non-VoIP endpoint devices (e.g., plain oldtelephone service (POTS) telephones and cellular-capable devices). Eachendpoint device is respectively associated with an account of aremotely-situated client entity. Endpoint devices may be associated witha particular remotely-situated client entity by registering the endpointdevice with a particular remotely-situated client entity serviced by thedata communications server. Registered devices for eachremotely-situated client entity may be listed in a respective accountsettings file (not shown) stored by the data communications servers 110.In this example, endpoint devices 152, 154, and 156 are associated withan account 150 for a first remotely-situated client entity (e.g.,“Client A”) and endpoint devices 162, 164, and 166 are associated withinan account 160 for a second remotely-situated client entity (e.g.,“Client B”).

Each remotely-situated client entity (e.g., client A 150 and client B160) may include a respective automatic contact system (e.g., dialer 151associated with client A and dialer 161 associated with client B). Theautomatic contact system facilitates the contacting of individualsand/or entities specified in a contact list, such as that provided in acampaign for the associated client entity. For example, the automaticcontact system 151, via the data communications server 110, may contactthe individuals and/or entities specified in a particular contact listprovided by client A. The automatic contact system may alsoautomatically identify message recording systems and dispose ofcommunications without connecting an agent to the message recordingsystem. In some examples, the automatic contact system may include apredictive contact system, which analyzes a series of statisticscharacterizing the instantaneous and average capacity of datacommunications center agents to handle more communications in order topredict how many individuals and/or entities to contact simultaneously.The use of predictive contact systems minimizes agent waiting time bycontacting multiple individuals and/or entities per agent who iscurrently able to handle a new communication, or who is predicted tosoon be available to handle a new communication. Among other parameters,predictive contact systems analyze each agent's expected communicationtime, the number of agents actually waiting to handle a communication,and the likelihood of an attempted communication with any particularindividual and/or entity being answered. Once connections are made thecommunication is connected to an available agent.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the data communications server 110 iscommunicatively coupled to a plurality of target communications devices120. The data communications server 110 connects the contact system fromthe respective client with a number and/or identifier associated witheach of the respective target communications devices 120. Each targetcommunications device may be associated with an identifier correspondingto a particular individual and/or place of business. For example, thetarget communications devices may include telephones associated with aparticular individuals and/or a places of business. Additionally and/oralternatively, the target communications devices may include computingdevices associated with particular individuals and/or places ofbusiness, such as desktop computers and/or portable computers. Eachtarget communications device may be associated with an address, phonenumber, or other identifier by which the data communications server 110may identify it.

As an illustration, the data communications server 110 may connectdevice 152 from client A with each of target communications devices 172,174, and 176 in a sequential manner, via the contact system 151, as partof a campaign for client A. As described herein, a campaign refers toand/or includes a plurality of agents communicating with targetedindividuals and/or entities (e.g., customer contact lists) with theintention of making sales, generating leads, marketing a brand, and/orperforming market research.

FIG. 2 shows an example flowchart for management of a datacommunications center, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 2 , a data communications server 110can facilitate communication between data communications center clientsand target communications devices 120. The data communications server110 can include one or more computer processor circuits coupled tomemory circuits and configured to interface with a plurality ofremotely-situated client entities (e.g., client A and client B). Each ofthe data communication center clients and the target communicationsdevices may be remotely situated with regard to the data communicationsserver. At 121, the data communications server 110 may be configured andarranged to monitor a plurality of communications generated by anautomatic contact system associated with a first remotely-situatedclient entity among the plurality of remotely-situated client entities(such as client A). In such an example, the plurality of communicationsplaced to the target communications device 120 are included in a firstcampaign of the first client entity. The data communications server 110may receive from each target communications device 120, data indicatingwhether the communication was answered, not answered, dropped, etc. At123, the data communications server 110 may be configured and arrangedto determine a disposition of the communications placed to the targetcommunications devices 120 based at least on the received data. At 125,the data communications server 110 may be configured and arranged toreceive a campaign from another remotely-situated client entity, such asclient B. At 127, the data communications server 110 may be configuredand arranged to compare attributes of the campaign of client A (e.g.,the first campaign) with attributes of the campaign of client B (e.g.,the second campaign). At 129, the data communications server 110 may beconfigured and arranged to determine (e.g., predict) a success rate ofthe second campaign based on the disposition of the communications ofthe first campaign, as described herein. Although FIG. 2 illustratescomparing a campaign of one remotely-situated client entity with acampaign of a second remotely-situated client entity, examples are notso limited. For instance, the data communications server may compare afirst campaign of client A to a second campaign of client A, anddetermine a success rate of the second campaign based on the comparison.

FIG. 3 shows an example flowchart for management of a datacommunications center, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 3 , a data communications server 110can facilitate communication between data communications center clientsand target communications devices 120. The data communications server110 can include one or more computer processor circuits coupled tomemory circuits and configured to interface with a plurality ofremotely-situated client entities (e.g., client A and client B). Each ofthe data communications center clients and the target communicationsdevices may be remotely situated with regard to the data communicationsserver. At 131, the data communications server 110 may be configured andarranged to provide a GUI including a display of communications-basedcampaigns. For instance, the data communications server may provide aGUI for each respective remotely-situated client entity, the GUIincluding a display of communications-based campaigns, IVR tools, anddata analytics. As discussed herein, the data communications server maymonitor a plurality oft communications generated by an automatic contactsystem associated with a first remotely-situated client entity among theplurality of remotely-situated client entities (such as client A). Thedata communications server 110 may receive from each targetcommunications device 120, data indicating whether the communication wasanswered, not answered, dropped, etc. Accordingly, the datacommunications server 110 may be configured and arranged to determine adisposition of the communications placed to the target communicationsdevices 120 based at least on the received data. As such, the datacommunications server 110 may provide, at 133, a display on the GUIincluding selectable components to create a customization for handlingincoming and/or outgoing communications. For instance, the datacommunications server 110 may be configured and arranged to generate acustomer contact list for a second campaign associated with a secondremotely-situated client entity (such as client B), based at least inpart on the disposition of the plurality of communications from thefirst campaign (e.g., the campaign from client A). Although FIG. 1illustrates generating a customer contact list for client B based on adisposition of communications from client A, examples are not solimited. For instance, the data communications server may generate asecond customer calling list for client A, based on the disposition ofthe communications from the first campaign of client A. At 135, the datacommunications server may handle communications for the associatedremotely-situated client entity according to the provided customization,as discussed with regards to FIG. 4 .

FIG. 4 illustrates an example graphical user interface (GUI) for datacommunications center management, consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure. As described with regard to FIGS. 1-3 , a system ofcontact center management in accordance with the present disclosure mayinclude a plurality of remotely-situated client entities communicativelycoupled to a data communications server. Each of the remotely-situatedclient entities may include at least one computing device including auser interface. Also, the data communications server may include one ormore computer processor circuits coupled to memory circuits andconfigured to interface with the plurality of remotely-situated cliententities. The data communications server may be configured and arrangedto provide a GUI as illustrated, in part, in FIG. 4 .

In some examples, the data communications server is configured andarranged to provide a GUI for each respective remotely-situated cliententity. The GUI provided to each respective remotely-situated cliententity may include a display of call campaigns, IVR tools, and dataanalytics. Also, the GUI provided to each respective remotely-situatedclient entity may include a display including selectable components tocustomize for the associated remotely-situated client entity, acustomization for handling incoming communications by the IVR system.For instance, referring to FIG. 4 , the data communications server mayprovide a display on the GUI including selectable components 210 tocreate customized IVR queues specifying a manner of handling incomingcommunications for the associated remotely-situated client entity. TheGUI may further include a display 214 of all previous IVR queuesgenerated by the remotely-situated client entity, and an option tocreate a new IVR queue. Additionally, the GUI may include a region 212for drag and drop configuration of the selectable components in a flowchart 216 that represents the IVR queue.

Each component displayed in region 212 may be connected, as illustratedin FIG. 4 . Additionally the selectable components may be moved, added,and/or removed. In some examples, the flow chart includes multiple pathsfor the IVR queue. For instance, the IVR queue may include a first pathrepresenting normal data communications routing operation, a second pathrepresenting an error in a data communications routing operation, athird path representing a timeout condition, and a fourth pathrepresenting a retry operation. The selectable components 210 may beselected, dragged, and dropped in region 212, and connected within theflow chart 216 in a user-configurable manner. While FIG. 4 illustrates aflow chart including six (6) different selectable components comprisingthe IVR queue, the IVR queue may include more or fewer selectablecomponents than illustrated. Similarly, a customized IVR queue mayinclude redundant selectable components. For instance, flow chart 216includes a single “play message” component and a single “menu”component. In accordance with the present disclosure, the flow chart 216may include two (or more) “menu” components at different locationswithin the flow chart 216, and/or two (or more) “play message”components different locations within the flow chart 216. An additionalselectable component 218 allows the user to label the created IVR queuefor further retrieval. For instance, the created IVR queue may bedisplayed in display 214 for subsequent retrieval and/or modification.

Various embodiments are implemented in accordance with the underlyingProvisional Application (Ser. No. 62/641,815), entitled “Contact CenterManagement In Data Communications Systems,” filed Mar. 12, 2018, towhich benefit is claimed and which are fully incorporated herein byreference. For instance, embodiments herein and/or in the provisionalapplication may be combined in varying degrees (including wholly).Reference may also be made to the teachings and underlying referencesprovided in the underlying provisional application. Embodimentsdiscussed therein are not intended, in any way, to be limiting to theoverall technical disclosure, or to any part of the claimed inventionunless specifically noted.

Various blocks, modules or other circuits may be implemented to carryout one or more of the operations and activities described herein and/orshown in the figures. As examples, the Specification describes and/orillustrates aspects useful for implementing the claimed disclosure byway of various circuits or circuitry using terms such as blocks,modules, device, system, unit, controller, and the like. In thesecontexts, a “block” (also sometimes “logic circuitry” or “module”) is acircuit that carries out one or more of these or relatedoperations/activities. For example, in certain ones of theabove-discussed embodiments, one or more modules are discrete logiccircuits, computer processing circuits, or programmable logic circuitsconfigured and arranged for implementing these operations/activities, asin the blocks shown in the figures.

Similarly, it will be apparent that a server includes a computerprocessing circuit that is configured to provide services to othercircuit-based devices. Moreover, a (VoIP) endpoint device (or endpoint)includes a communication circuit and (computer) processing circuitswhich are configured to establish (VoIP) communication sessions withother endpoint devices (e.g., personal computers, IP-enabled mobilephones, and tablet computers). In certain embodiments, such a processingcircuit is one or more computer processing circuits programmed toexecute a set (or sets) of instructions (and/or configuration data). Theinstructions (and/or configuration data) can be in the form of softwarestored in and accessible from a memory circuit, and where such circuitsare directly associated with one or more algorithms (or processes), theactivities pertaining to such algorithms are not necessarily limited tothe specific flows such as shown in the flow charts illustrated in thefigures (e.g., where a circuit is programmed to perform the relatedsteps, functions, operations, activities, etc., the flow charts aremerely specific detailed examples). The skilled artisan would alsoappreciate that different (e.g., first and second) modules can include acombination of a central processing unit (CPU) hardware-based circuitryand a set of computer-executable instructions, in which the first moduleincludes a first CPU hardware circuit with one set of instructions andthe second module includes a second CPU hardware circuit with anotherset of instructions.

Certain embodiments are directed to a computer program product (e.g.,nonvolatile memory device), which includes a machine orcomputer-readable medium having stored thereon, instructions which maybe executed by a computer (or other electronic device) that includes acomputer processor circuit to perform these operations/activities. Forexample, these instructions reflect activities or data flows as may beexemplified in figures, flow charts, and the detailed description.

Based upon the above discussion and illustrations, those skilled in theart will readily recognize that various modifications and changes may bemade to the various embodiments without strictly following the exemplaryembodiments and applications illustrated and described herein. Forexample, although aspects and features may in some cases be described inindividual figures, it will be appreciated that features from one figurecan be combined with features of another figure even though thecombination is not explicitly shown or explicitly described as acombination. Such modifications do not depart from the true spirit andscope of various aspects of the disclosure, including aspects set forthin the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: via a data communicationsserver, providing data communications services including processing ofdata communications, which are incoming to the data communicationsserver, on behalf of a plurality of remotely-situated client entities,and providing to at least one of the plurality of remotely-situatedclient entities a user interface for customizing one or morecommunications-based campaigns involving the data communications andinvolving at least one interactive voice response (IVR) system to beoperated on behalf of said at least one of the plurality ofremotely-situated client entities; via the data communications serverand on behalf of said at least one of the plurality of remotely-situatedclient entities, monitoring and processing the data communications forsaid one or more communications-based campaigns; and comparingattributes of respective ones of the communications-based campaigns topredict or indicate a likely success rate of at least one of thecommunications-based campaigns based on respective dispositions of themonitored and processed data communications and on the attributes beingcompared.
 2. The method of claim 1, further including a predictivecontact systems, communicatively coupled to the data communicationsserver, to determine one or more variables from among the following:expected communications times of one or more agents carrying out one ofthe communications-based campaigns; for agents carrying out one of thecommunications-based campaigns, a number of said agents actually waitingto handle a communication; and a likelihood of an attemptedcommunication with any particular individual and/or entity beinganswered.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data communicationsservices provided by the data communications server include Voice overInternet Protocol (VoIP)-type data communications, and the userinterface is to permit a user to create a customized IVR queue, throughwhich telephone calls are to be routed by said at least one IVR system,by dragging and dropping selectable components displayed by the userinterface.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface includesa graphic user interface (GUI), wherein the GUI displays selectablecomponents for one or more customized ways through which telephone callsare to be processed by the IVR system.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe user interface includes a graphic user interface (GUI), and whereinthe method further includes providing on the GUI a display of callcampaigns, interactive voice response tools, and data analytics relatingto the call campaigns.
 6. The method of claim 5, further includingproviding on the GUI a display of selectable components to createcustomized interactive voice response queues specifying a manner ofprocessing telephone calls.
 7. A method comprising: via a datacommunications server providing data communications services includingprocessing of data communications, which are incoming to the datacommunications server, on behalf of a plurality of remotely-situatedclient entities, and providing to at least one of the plurality ofremotely-situated client entities a user interface for customizing oneor more communications-based campaigns involving the data communicationswhich are incoming to the data communications server and involving atleast one interactive voice response (IVR) system to be operated onbehalf of said at least one of the plurality of remotely-situated cliententities; via the data communications server and on behalf of said atleast one of the plurality of remotely-situated client entities,monitoring and processing the data communications for a first campaignand a second campaign, each of which is among said one or morecommunications-based campaigns; using a plurality of attributes of thefirst campaign to configure attributes of the second campaign; andpredicting or indicating, based on at least some of the plurality ofattributes used to configure attributes of the second campaign, a likelysuccess rate of at least one of the communications-based campaigns basedon respective dispositions of the monitored and processed datacommunications and on at least in part on said at least some of theplurality of attributes.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the userinterface includes a graphic user interface (GUI), and wherein themethod further includes manipulating selectable components of the GUI tocreate a customized IVR queue through which telephone calls are to beprocessed by said at least one IVR system.
 9. The method of claim 7,wherein the user interface displays selectable components on a displayfor a user having access to the user interface, and the datacommunications server provides one or more customization tools forhandling communications on behalf of said at least one of the pluralityof remotely-situated client entities according to the at least oneinteractive voice response system.
 10. The method of claim 7, whereinthe user interface includes a graphic user interface which permits auser to display previous IVR queues.
 11. The method of claim 7, furtherincluding the user interface displaying selectable options to configureautomatic contact lists on behalf of said at least one of the pluralityof remotely-situated client entities.
 12. The method of claim 7, whereinthe data communications services provided by the data communicationsserver include Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)-type datacommunications, and one or a combination of the following types of datacommunications services: website hosting, remote data storage, remotecomputing services, and virtual computing environments.
 13. The methodof claim 7, further including integrating data from anothercommunications system to allow certain of the plurality ofremotely-situated client entities to accept and make calls and to trackinquiries from customers.
 14. The method of claim 7, further includingproviding a display on the user interface of a representation of aplurality of interactive voice response queues associated with said atleast one of the plurality of remotely-situated client entities.
 15. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the data communications server is to providecustomization by handling communications on behalf of said at least oneof the plurality of remotely-situated client entities according to theat least one interactive voice response system.
 16. The method of claim7, wherein the user interface is to display real-time information, ascollected in real time while said monitoring and processing the datacommunications for at least one of the first campaign and the secondcampaign, regarding performance of at least one of the first campaignand the second campaign.
 17. The method of claim 7, wherein the firstcampaign and the second campaign are respectively performed on behalf ofa first one and on behalf of a second one of said at least one of theplurality of remotely-situated client entities.
 18. The method of claim7, wherein the first campaign and the second campaign are respectivelyperformed on behalf of a single one of said at least one of theplurality of remotely-situated client entities.
 19. The method of claim7, wherein the data communications server is to integrate data fromanother communications system to allow certain of the plurality ofremotely-situated client entities to accept and make calls and trackinquiries from customers.
 20. The method of claim 7, wherein the datacommunications server is to provide a display on the user interface of arepresentation of a plurality of interactive voice response queuesassociated with said at least one of the plurality of remotely-situatedclient entities.
 21. An apparatus comprising: a data communicationsserver and data-processing computer circuitry to provide datacommunications services including processing of data communications,which are incoming to the data communications server, on behalf of aplurality of remotely-situated client entities, and provide to at leastone of the plurality of remotely-situated client entities a userinterface for customizing one or more communications-based campaignsinvolving the data communications which are incoming to the datacommunications server and involving at least one interactive voiceresponse (IVR) system to be operated on behalf of said at least one ofthe plurality of remotely-situated client entities; monitor and process,on behalf of said at least one of the plurality of remotely-situatedclient entities, the data communications for a first campaign and asecond campaign, each of which is among said one or morecommunications-based campaigns; use a plurality of attributes of thefirst campaign to configure attributes of the second campaign; andpredict or indicate, based on at least some of the plurality ofattributes used to configure attributes of the second campaign, a likelysuccess rate of at least one of the communications-based campaigns basedon respective dispositions of the monitored and processed datacommunications and on at least in part on said at least some of theplurality of attributes.